[LIVE] War in Ukraine: what risk the American "mercenaries" captured by Moscow
US Army veterans Alexander Drueke (left) and Andy Huynh (right) were captured by the Russian military while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
© AP / Montage RFI
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3 mins
On the 118th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tuesday June 21, Moscow authorities maintain that Alexander Drueke and Andy Huyng, Americans captured while fighting with the Ukrainians, are "
mercenaries
" who will be "
held responsible for crimes they have committed
”.
Meanwhile, across an occupied southern region of the country, Russian TV is now broadcast for free.
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► Moscow has blocked the RFI website, which broadcasts information in fifteen languages including Russian. An alternative URL allows access to the site
in French
and
Russian
.
RFI in Russian is also available on Telegram:
https://t.me/RFI_Ru
via a VPN and in Russia in French via satellite on Hotbird.
► RFI's Russian editorial site broadcasts Ukrainian public radio (in the Ukrainian language) from the
homepage
.
The main points:
► During a videoconference with members of the African Union, Volodymyr Zelensky declared that
Africa is “
hostage
” to the Russian invasion in Ukraine
.
► The Russian army announces that it has connected the entire
Kherson region
(southern Ukraine), conquered by Moscow in the first days of the offensive in February, to
Russian television channels
.
These will now be accessible “
for free
”.
►
The Ukrainian head of state expects "
Russia to intensify its attacks this week
"
, while the Twenty-Seven of the European Union must decide on Friday on
Ukraine's candidate status
.
For Volodymyr Zelensky, this week can therefore be “
truly historic
”.
►
Russia is threatening to retaliate against the introduction of “
hostile
” restrictions
on the transit of certain goods via
Lithuania
to its enclave of Kaliningrad.
Vilnius defends itself and ensures that this limited transit complies with "
European sanctions
".
Times are given in Universal Time (UT),
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6:34 a.m .: Moscow gives news of the two captured American “
mercenaries ”
The Kremlin speaks for the first time about Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, two former American soldiers captured in Ukraine a few days ago while fighting with the armed forces of kyiv.
Moscow spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave an interview to US channel
NBC News
:
“
They are mercenaries and they were involved in illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine.
They were involved in shooting and shelling
” against Russian soldiers and “
putting their lives in danger
”.
Dmitri Peskov adds that Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh “
must be held responsible for the crimes they committed
”, which “
must be investigated
”.
The Kremlin spokesman admitted that the characteristics of their offenses were not yet known but assured that they were not covered by the Geneva conventions on prisoners of war.
As to whether they risk the death penalty, “
it depends on the investigation
”.
06h30: Hello and welcome to this live
You can find our live yesterday by following
this link
.
All of our daily, live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
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Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky
Vladimir Poutine
Defense
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Day to day war in Ukraine
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The day President Zelensky addressed the African Union